Of Ashes and Smoke
by MyBlueOblivion
Summary: It was just another pretty, backwater world, with no real importance to anyone; for the tau, it seemed to be the safest prospect for a mining project that they could have hoped for. They couldn't have been more wrong...


Of Ashes and Smoke

_She was surrounded by death..._

The air was thick with the acrid stench of smoke, tainted with the faint tang of ozone and plasma discharge. Even through the filtering systems in her tall helm, Ariyanna found that she occasionally had to fight the urge to cough. The snow that had been falling for the last two hours was mixing with falling ash, a result of the freshly-burning remains of two nearby Hammerhead gunships. It left a grimy, grey patina over the world, further evidence of the transgressions of the tau. Above her, the midnight sky flickered with the light of countless similar fires, as well as the flashing reports of distant weapons fire.

In the distance, the Void-dreamer could make out the silhouettes of the tau defensive line. Sleek gunships hovered back and forth, accompanied by tall, blocky battlesuits. The tau infantry, supported by small, hovering drones, were entrenched behind a hastily erected wall, pouring fire into the primary eldar advance. Which, she was pleased to note, was in entirely the opposite direction from her own strike force.

Around her, forming ranks under cover of the tree-line they would be attacking from, Ariyanna's forces were joined by a small contingent of the craftworlders. She could see their farseer, Quilindras, flanked by the imposing frame of Sirillien, the Dire Avenger exarch they called "The Crystal Shard". A unit of Guardian Defenders were manoeuvring a weapons platform into position, its deadly bright lance having already seen use that night. Among them she could make out the blood-red armour of her own Avengers, the Shrine of the Ardent Shield. Rylliath and his Reapers were noticeable by their absence, having joined their Rangers further down the tree-line.

Ariyanna felt a presence by her side, and a moment later felt the familiar warmth of her friend's mind pressing gently against her own. Over the long years since her exile, Lycadros had been her friend, her aide, her guardian, and occasionally her lover; the intrusion on her thoughts was easy to forgive. The Dire Avenger Exarch looked down at her, gently brushing the back of his left hand against her right in familiar greeting as he did so.

"We are ready," he said, his voice low. "The Biel-Tan contingent has received word that the time for attack is upon us. What are your orders?"

"Wait for the farseer's command," Ariyanna replied. "Signal Rylliath, make sure he is in position. We move when they do."

O

The tau had come to the world they had named _Fi'Raka'th_ believing it to be safe. It was a glittering pearl in an otherwise empty sector of space, dominated by large polar caps that the Earth caste had discovered to be rich in mineral deposits. Its topography ranged from wide, verdant valleys to majestic mountains, interspersed with forests, glacial rivers, lakes and just one equatorial ocean. The world was also entirely uninhabited; though early surveys had revealed the presence of strange, artificial structures standing at seemingly random points on the world's surface, there was no life to be found more advanced than a few species of small, forest-dwelling apes.

The decision to land a mining expedition had come directly from the Ethereal temple on_ Sa'cea_; the minerals on _Fi'Raka'th_ were essential to the production of the latest wave of Riptide battlesuits, and the opportunity was too important to overlook. Naturally, every measure would be taken to preserve the world's natural beauty; but in the long run, what was one small, pretty world with no strategic value worth compared to the Greater Good?

O

The eldar felt very differently on the matter. To them, _Meranathyr_ was a sanctuary world, a planet-wide shrine to Asuryan and Isha. It was a place for pilgrims seeking meditation and meaning, a place for healing and calm. The tau had brought nothing of the sort to this holy place; the insult had to be answered, and the stain removed. Retribution would be both swift and final.

The closest forces were a warhost from _Biel-tan_, travelling home through the webway from a campaign against the humans. Under-strength after their previous engagements, the farseer with the host, Quilindras, had sent out a call for aid. The nearest help from their craftworld was more than a week away; no-one was more surprised than the farseer when an answer came from a very different direction. A ship belonging to the Void Dragon corsairs was nearby, and in a moment of rare charity had decided to offer assistance. Ariyanna, the ship's Void-dreamer, had foreseen a great deal of opportunity for the Void Dragons on _Meranathyr_; now, she and her forces would be assisting to deliver the final blow against the tau.

O

The battle raged around Ariyanna like fire, hot and intense. The small strike force had caught the tau unawares, exactly as Quilindras had predicted. Their goal was the enemy commander, who could be easily marked out by the ornate orange and white livery of his battlesuit. He was surrounded by a coterie of his most elite warriors, and was quickly reorganising them into a better defensive position, to deal with the threat the combined eldar forces posed. Ranks of fire warriors now faced them, lethal pulse carbines spitting incandescent death at the eldar, backed up by the tall, ungainly forms of Crisis battlesuits.

The Dire Avengers and guardians closed quickly, covering fire from Rylliath's Dark Reapers and Syndri's rangers buying the faster warriors some respite from the tau firing line. Within moments, the ranged fire-fight devolved into a swirling melee; any advantage the tau held at range was instantly lost as the two forces collided. Compared to the lithe, graceful skill of her kin, the tau's combat expertise had a bovine clumsiness to it; a fact the tau came to appreciate all to quickly.

Their actions were slow, uncertain, like a poorly trained child in the face of a storm. Her actions were quick and lithe, with the sinuous grace born of centuries of practice. Her amber-crystal witchblades struck out in elegant, precise motions; each movement either meted out death or prevented her own. Reaching out along the finer strands of the skein, Ariyanna directed each blow into a weaving pattern of wanton carnage, a symphony in Khaine's praise.

Ariyanna watched with pride as Lycadros sprinted toward a gaggle of Crisis suits, his squad in tow, before launching himself through the air to impale the squad shas'vre with his glittering power lance. To the right, Sirillien's Avengers surrounded their master, providing support as the powerful exarch swung his diresword in sweeping, graceful arcs, each movement bringing more death to their enemy. And at the centre of it all, wreathed in a nimbus of eldritch lightning and surrounded by a dozen tiny, floating runes, was Quilindras; a new respect for the farseer began to grow in her as she watched him walking the lines between present and future, guiding the skein with practiced ease.

The Void-dreamer's brief reverie was broken by the high-pitched scream of an energy weapon, followed by a blinding flash that struck the nearby guardian unit, hurling four of them into the air, broken and lifeless. The source of the blast strode into view a few moments later; a massive battlesuit, far larger than even the tau commander, stalked out of the smoke-filled night. The bright, actinic glare of search lights built into its chest gave it a surreal, almost ghostly appearance as it approached through the haze. Its right arm was dominated by a massive ion cannon, its left by a huge, round shield. Ariyanna had heard of these 'Riptide' battlesuits; she had prayed that she would never meet one in person.

The Riptide turned its head, apparently noticing her watching it; its bright red, cyclopean optic relay whirred and clicked as the pilot inside regarded her. With a grace that belied its ungainly appearance and massive size, the battlesuit surged forward, the ground shaking with each footfall. Acting on instinct, Ariyanna drew her pistol with blinding speed, loosing half a dozen shuriken into the armoured behemoth. Even as she realised that the Riptide had suffered no damage, she was readying the far more potent forces of her mind.

Focussing her thoughts, Ariyanna formed a bolt of psionic energy in her hand, hurling it at her foe. The shock rocked the Riptide back slightly, but most of the energy was dissipated by the battlesuit's shield. She threw a second bolt, then a third, while casting runes of channelling and protection into the air with her free hand. Her fourth psi-bolt managed to knock the Riptide's ion cannon off balance, saving her from a torrent of super-energised particles, but still the huge machine advanced, intent on crushing her alive. Desperate, the Void-dreamer fell back, reaching out for help as she did so.

Rylliath was the first to her aid, a flurry of starshot missiles sent screaming into the Riptide's flank, showering the area around it with burning debris and making the battlesuit stagger sideways. The Guardians followed suit, their bright lance concentrating on the shield generator. The energy field protecting the tau construct shuddered, turning from a pale green to a dark, vicious purple as the field collapsed. A second, less focussed shot carved a deep, glowing scar across the mech's chest plate; thick smoke began to rise from one of the air intakes there.

A moment later, the air around the Riptide rippled, then began to pulse. Acting quickly, Ariyanna hurled herself to the ground as the sky erupted with arcs of powerful, psionic lightning. The eldritch storm surrounded the Riptide, streamers of energy running across the battlesuit's armoured hide like rainwater across skin. As the storm rose, the air pressure increased, and the Riptide began to rise slowly, lifted into the air by unseen forces.

His eyes dancing with arcane energies, Quilindras strode past the young Void-dreamer, his singing spear held loosely in his right hand. With a gesture, the storm ended as abruptly as it had begun, dropping the Riptide awkwardly onto its knees, steam and smoke rising from its charred outer surface. The farseer gazed at the creature with undisguised anger, before drawing back his right arm and hurling his weapon, _Rimeshard_, clear through the head of the metallic giant. The Riptide spasmed violently, before pitching forward and collapsing to the ground. The pilot inside was dead.

The battle ended moments later. The main eldar advance swept over and through the last of the tau defences; dozens of Aspect warriors surged over the barricades, led by a towering wraithlord, and followed by the sleek, deadly shapes of Fire Prism grav-tanks. The air was filled with the battle-cry of Howling Banshees and the whistling hiss of discharged shuriken catapults, the deep bass thrum of prism cannons firing and the screams of the dying. And then, as suddenly and violently as it had started, the battle was done.

O

She was surrounded by death. Ariyanna surveyed the dawn-lit vista around her, her heart heavy. The pure, white snows of _Meranathyr_ were stained with the deep blue of tau blood, mingled with the deep vermilion of her own people's. The air was still thick with smoke, which rose in a steady pall from the ruined mining complex, lending a soft, hazy edge to her surroundings. There was so much death here, the psychic echo of so many corpses pulling at her senses. It had been a beautiful world; now just for this small part of it, the experience of its splendour was sullied.

Looking to her left, Ariyanna noticed Lycadros watching her from a respectful distance. He inclined his head, a question flitting briefly through their psychic bond, a feeling of concern for her that made her smile. This holy place had been the site of a great desecration, and the exarch's first thought was for her; in an ever changing universe, it was pleasing to find that some things never changed. She smiled at him, returning his thought with an image of the bounty they could take from the mining complex, especially the minerals that had already been harvested.

There was bound to be a tau colony that would pay a handsome price for such a gift...

* * *

From the Invasion 40kDoubles event, 3rd August '13... if anyone's interested, pics from the event are on Warhamer World's facebook page; I'm one of the guys wearing a black 'Thurrock Thunderwolves' tee :) Thanks for reading!


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